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The next stop along the coast from Pendine Sands with its rich history of world speed record attempts, and Laugharne where the renowned Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas spent the later part of his life is Marros Sands.Marros Sands is, as its name suggests, a mainly sandy beach, that stretches for two miles west to Telpyn Point. Occasionally, the combination of low tide and rough seas, which disturb the sand, make it possible to see the remains of trees from a submerged 4000 year old forest. Also on the beach are the remnants of a ship, thought to be a schooner that went aground during a storm in 1886 with a cargo of culm. Culm has various meanings, such as the stalk of a plant, but in this context it refers to coal dust, also known as slack.Walking along the beach westwards you come to Telpyn Point, where at low tide, it is possible to walk around the point to Telpyn Beach. Telpyn is a sandy beach with pebbles at the back beneath the cliff. If you are interested in climbing rock faces, Telpyn Point offers various options with Fisherman’s Wall, Mollusc Wall, Tremors Zawn and Cave Wall. Personally I prefer to walk along the coast rather than risk falling from a cliff face, but I’m sure there are many out there who would relish the challenge.

Amroth Castle

After Telpyn Beach is Amroth, which is on the border between the counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, and it is here that the Pembrokeshire section of the Wales Coast Path begins.

The beach is wide and mainly sandy with a road running along the back of the beach where the village of Amroth is located. Here you will find parking, a pub and a café. What more could you want?

On the beach the remains of a petrified forest that was destroyed when sea levels rose thousands of years ago can be seen. There is also Amroth Castle, which is now a country house built in the 19th century where a castle dating from the 12th century originally stood.Remains of the castle can still be seen. In the 1850’s the country house was used as a lunatic asylum.A little inland there is an Anglican church called St Elidyr, which is a Grade II listed building and worth visiting if you have time.After Amroth is a small hamlet and beach called Wiseman’s Bridge, which along with the adjacent beach of Saundersfoot was used during the Second World War for a secret operation codenamed Operation Jantzen.The beaches were considered to be similar to those of Northern France where the D-Day landings were to take place as part of the operation to liberate France from German occupation, and so in August 1943 a full-scale practice landing took place at Wiseman’s Bridge. During the operation Winston Churchill came to survey the troops and apparently had a pot of tea at the local inn, and that is Wiseman’s Bridge main claim to fame.

D-Day Medal

My father took part in the D-Day landings and I remember when I was fourteen we went on holiday to France and visited the beaches where the landings took place. We had lunch at a restaurant near one of the beaches and I recall the owner of the restaurant asked us why we were visiting the area.

On discovering that my father, who was a Quarter Master Sergeant during the Second World War,had been involved in the operation we were given a delicious lunch on the house.

I can’t imagine what memories my father must have carried with him from his time as a soldier in the war, he never talked about it much, but he must have witnessed some dreadful scenes of which, the D-day landings must have been one.

It is possible to walk along a joint footpath and cycle way from Wiseman’s Bridge to the following beach and village of ﻿Saundersfoot.﻿ The path was originally a narrow gauge railway used to transport anthracite coal from local collieries. In fact the harbour at Saundersfoot was built to export coal from the local pits. The sandy beach at Saundersfoot is popular in the summer and the village has a selection of pubs, cafes and shops, hotels and camping sites.

If you are in the area why not take a walk along this stretch of coastline and get to know Wales just a little more.

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